Sierra Nevada 2018 Celebration

Fair point but I have been around for a while so when I hear about Celebration I think about the earlier days and it was a pretty popular/hyped beer back then.

If it were that price near me I would be excited too ha ha

 

First 6er of the new/first 2018 batch, tastes delicious as always.

 

It's the bottle. We all want to be sitting in that cabin with an unlimited supply of Celebration Ale while the snow falls outside. Plus it's a great beer.

 

You nailed it!

 

Yessir! It is a really good beer, to my tastes, but everything you said is true. It is one of the beers that is just a signpost in the passage of another year.

Also, this is why I HATE Sierra Nevada's newer labels. The window with the landscapes/art were some of the best in the biz.

 

It would actually be pretty awesome if they did. Dying breed of a great style.

 

Smooth, balanced, and consistently reliable, year after year. Hey, kind of like us.

 

It's not my favorite IPA, but it's always good. And your statement really nailed it for me. It stands out so much more with all the New England IPAs around, it's a breath of fresh air.

Picked up a six pack this past weekend.

 

I also truly hate the new SN generic label art. It gives the impression they don't think that beer will last so why bother putting any effort into the packaging. The original labels are pretty classy - something I associate with the brand, the new labels do not give me that impression. @SierraTerence do you have any insight on the new generic labels? Will some old favorites get that treatment too? The recent Kolsch lost it's window frame label art for a clip art cityscape.

 

I think it's a good beer, but I don't turn black flips for it. As always I'll buy a 6 or a 12 and probably be done with it. That said I do think it's the best seasonal available which speaks more towards the entries.

 

I was at the store yesterday and I couldn't agree with you more. What is going on with their packaging for Sidecar? Yuck.

 

Well Sidecar is a beer I wish they would drop from their portfolio so I think the terrible art is perfectly apt in this situation.

 

I'd be on board with that but I'm sure they know the numbers better than we do. I tried it when it first came out and it just made me miss the normal beers. I was wishing yesterday I could find a six pack of Tumbler.

 

I'm really afraid that Celebration won't hit here in Louisville before we move to Alexandria mid-November. Regardless, I'll buy it as soon as I see it. Still my favorite IPA out there.

 

Georgia or Kentucky?

 

As much as I love SN Celebration, I typically go for Deschutes Red Chair or Jubelale when I'm in the market for a regional winter seasonal.

 

Sierra Nevada Celebration tastes notably different to me each year. I discussed this with @BillManley in the past.

The 'good news' is that I always enjoy this beer every year with some years being 'better' for my palate but the beer is always good and worthy of a purchase.

One year I only purchased a single 6-pack but there was another year where I bought two cases.

Here is to wishing this year is a two case year!

Cheers!

@SierraTerence

 

I look forward to this beer every year. I think what a lot of people don’t understand about the ‘hype’ with this beer is that some of us have been drinking this beer for decades! So there’s a bit of nostalgia when we see this on the shelves. I mean back then we had like 4 decent beers to choose from. So seeing this seasonal beer was just fucking awesome to us!

Also, I think some of the newer beer drinkers would probably like this beer too if it wasn’t referred to as an ‘IPA’ or had the word ‘hop’ anywhere on the label.

 

I might have mentioned in another thread... I think this year's Northern Hemisphere is the best we have ever produced and this year's Celebration Ale is right up there with on of my favorite years. Great balance of pine, citrus and rose in the aroma. I usually judge off the rose character and this is why Centennial hops is one of my favorite varieties of hops, when the harvest window is nailed. In addition, the Cascades were a little later than years past and when we selected the lots for purchase, we found then to be delightful.

Okay - I(we) like old school too but an occasional refresh is warranted when we hear people say they skip over our brand as something they have already had, maybe a change will catch their eye. That said, newer brands will be much different than historical branding and a little outside our box (Hazy Little Thing, SierraVeza). We will also be launching a new Pale Ale label. The graphics team has been saying for a long time that our labels have too many layers. Mountain scene, surrounded by botanicals with PALE ALE being lost over the top of all that. Therefore:
2015


2019: